1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a walk-in and folding apparatus for a seat in which a recliner or a locking device is released by a walk-in lever of a frame of a seat back and a folding lever of a cushion frame, enabling actions of walk-in and folding to operate independently.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a seat of a vehicle consists of a reclining seat back against which an occupant reclines and a seat cushion on which an occupant seats. A vehicle requires space so that occupants or articles with a variety of sizes may get on.
To satisfy such a requirement, according to the prior art, the seat back is configured such that it is folded and its folded angle is freely regulated. However, recently, in the case of 3-door car or a coupe, a front seat is slid forwards so as to increase a boarding area in order to facilitate boarding of a rear seat occupant. Further, along with the sliding, the seat back is folded over the seat cushion to maximize the boarding space. Such a sliding motion of the front seat is called a “walk-in function”.
Meanwhile, in the case of a SUV or a RV, rear-side space is required as trunk space. In this case, the seat back of the rear seat is configured so that the seat back is completely folded flat over the seat cushion, increasing the receiving space. Such a motion of the seat is called a “folding function”.
Now, in reality it is required to incorporate such walk-in and folding functions into a single seat such that the respective functions are independently implemented.
However, a walk-in and folding apparatus for a seat had problems of high manufacturing costs, frequent occurrences of malfunction, and of being incompatible with diverse kinds of cars because of the existence of too many parts.
Thus, a walk-in and folding apparatus for a seat, which can implement both functions with the minimum number of parts, and further can be compatible with the respectively different kinds of cars, is needed.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.